Tuesday, June 22, 2010

N1YS, a disabled ham attending a State college which is obligated to follow all state & federal laws to include PR 91-36 and the ECPA has effectively chilled N1YS and requires him to turn in his amateur HT each time he comes into the building because his equipment receives frequencies outside the amateur spectrum.

No contact information is posted at QRZ for this ham beyond his address. QRZ used to list e-mail addresses, but it looks like they have stopped that practice.

N1YS did not give the name of his college, but did confirm it is a state run operation, which would also fall squarely under the 1st amendment as far as communications are concerned. Security said to him that "we do not want anyone listening to our frequencies".

If anyone out here thinks they can lend support to N1YS, please consider stepping up. Tolerance equals consent in this type of matter and can set a dangerous precedent for licensed hams, as well as the public if this is allowed to continue.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

From The Southgate Amateur Radio Club: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2010/traffic_ticket_anger.htm

This story is also hashed out at QRZ and E-Ham. Video can be found at Youtube.

A similar incident has happened before, with the New York Judge convicting the accused ham operator. The judge in that case stated that New York does not recognize amateur radio, nor does it recognize exemptions at the state or federal level for licensed amateurs. This past case will likely pose a burden for our fellow ham in this case in the form of New York Case Law and Court Precedent.

All the best, we hope you see this ticket dismissed! If this ham loses his case, PR91-36 will likely not mean anything anymore, neither will any state level exemptions.

Maybe the Amateur Radio community should petition the ARRL and the FCC to hold formal training for Law Enforcement Officers on the differences between Amateur Radio and other two way radio communications versus cell phones. They truly do not seem to be able to tell the difference, and this can put Federally Licensed Amateurs on the line quite unfairly, and endanger the amateur radio service altogether.

Those rare disaster emergencies in which amateur radio plays a part are just one item that should be on the agenda to discuss, but overall, the issue needs to be brought that if it becomes illegal to operate mobile, how long will it be before hand held portable amateur radio operation becomes illegal while walking down the street?